Ok so I'm throwing it out there that I'm finally gonna give this a shot.
Motor is a vg33e from a 2000 pathfinder. Really clean but Ill still get around to tearing it down and putting all new seals and what not. Not gonna do any serious parts replacements until I know how it runs and I build it for boost down the road. First I gotta get it into the car and running
The plans is to use that motor, vg30 bellhousing, and a ka24de manual gear box.
My biggest worry is whether or not the vg30 bellhosuing will fit the 3.3 motor without mods. Anyone know this off hand? Once thats solved I still have to ensure flywheel, clutch all fit together. :opps:
Ill be using the stock ecu as Ive seen discussed long ago that the ecu should compensate the extra volume just fine. The vg30 and vg33 are nearly identical besides their minor differences (plenum, sensor locations, little stuff). How the mounts, ac, and wiring goes thats unknown until I get to pulling the stock motor out next weekend and get to see them side by side.
Any and all input is much appreciated. :cool2:
edit: oh yes and I have risen from the dead. Arm is healed fine (from snapping in half) and Ill be getting back into the swing of things again :)
Browse › Engines ›Other engine swaps
Im gonna try it: VG33E into 88 SE
Good luck and god speed man ill be watching this. Not that ill ever be able to afford a vg33e or er
Talk to VG33ERGazelle? and go check out his build thread.
Arro just beat me to the punch haha. I was gonna refer him to vg33ergazelle's build thread. Damn you Arro!
Just doin' my job ;) If the Site Admin doesn't bother to know who's doin' what 'round here, what good is he? :P
Don't answer that LOL
I messaged him and directed him here. Its late and I'm not gonna smash him with a million questions. lol. His thread has so much to it that it will take some time to sift through it all. Im doing just a swap, no fancy boost till after its in and running.
The next few days will be theory crafting, discussion, and planning for the weekend. I'm also going to be doing a full bushing replacement while the motor is out and redo the exhaust while I'm in there. All the extra space will be appreciated :D
I should be a pretty straightforward swap...actually there is no reason to ever replace a vg30 with a vg30 anymore with the high availability of the vg33 engines...I'm sure any real modification for fitment will be minimal after seeing many documented swaps for vg33's in z31's...most people are running turbo's on theirs though....also any bellhousing that fits a vg30e will fit a vg33e.
Taris is correct. You will be able to use the VG30 transmission with no modifications, as well as the factory s12 motor mounts. There's truly no issue with fitment whatsoever, the only reason I had to do any physical modification to anything was because the supercharger made the engine too tall for the hood to hide. Without it, it'll fit under a stock hood.
Here's a link to the album where I keep all my s12 documentation, might make it easier to find things -> http://s99.photobucket.com/albums/l297/Eternally_Defiant/s12%20stuff/
as far as the swap goes its relatively simple, there are only a few things you actually need to do. Foremost you have to decide on new engine management, the stock s12 ECU will not run the VG33 properly [nor will a Z31 Turbo ECU] both will flood the motor with fuel. As for me, I bought an Infiniti M30 ECU and sent it to Jim Wolf Technologies to be rewritten specifically for the purpose of running the motor. It gave me Consult connectivity to monitor the engine, and works like a dream. It was a little pricey, and I had to literally build an entire engine/ecu harness but it was worth it in the end. That's really the biggest decision you need to make.
Everything else is pretty minor. If you decide to, you can run Z31 headers but on the driver's side, the second tube won't clear the steering linkage so you'll have to have it cut and rewelded. You'll also have to purchase a VG30e oil dip stick tube and drill out a plug on the right side of the motor to relocate it to the other side if you wanna do aftermarket headers.
You can use the stock s12 oil pan and oil catch tube, you just have to modify the catch tube and the sump in the stock pan so they fit up properly. When bolted up to the VG33, the catch tube bends at the wrong angle and is a little too far forward for the s12 sump, you just have to bend the tube back and shorten it, and cut the sump a little. No biggie.
All the mechanical shit is the easy part. You'll be able to use all stock VG33 accessories and whatnots as for as A/C and P/S and all that...your biggest headache will be wiring. If you went with what I used as engine management you'll have to rewire the entire s12 harness using a combination of the VG33/Infiniti M30/s12 wiring diagrams kindly provided by their respective FSMs. I might guess that using aftermarket type engine management might limit this somewhat (I might be wrong on this, the VG33 has some differences than the s12 electrically), but I wanted stock reliability.
Anyway...that's mostly what I can think of at the moment. I do suggest you have at least three things at all times:
-patience
-determination
-drinks
Good luck! I'll be glad to answer questions or offer advice along the way, If I can help I will.
So, this isn't exactly an exotic swap ;-) but that's okay. My buddy is running a VG34 in his 88 Pathfinder with all stock injection, including the ECU. If you use the s12 injection and intake manifolds you should not have to do any type of rewire, and this would be the quickest way to get it running, and be the most reliable as a daily driver. I know you plan on turboing it, but you might as well make sure there are no kinks in the NA motor to start with. Get ahold of Mr.510 from Experimental Engineering as he has a modified crank pulley so you can use your stock V belt accessories instead of having to rewire for the VG33 accessories, afaik they moved things around.
But anyway, good luck!
z31 ecu and nistune or 12-1 fmu. If you don't go past 10 psi it will work fine. If you had a mustang/camaro and bought a blower kit for it thats what they use for fuel management.
VG33ERGazelle? on 11:18:14 AM / 20-May-12Taris is correct. You will be able to use the VG30 transmission with no modifications, as well as the factory s12 motor mounts. There's truly no issue with fitment whatsoever, the only reason I had to do any physical modification to anything was because the supercharger made the engine too tall for the hood to hide. Without it, it'll fit under a stock hood.
Here's a link to the album where I keep all my s12 documentation, might make it easier to find things -> http://s99.photobucket.com/albums/l297/Eternally_Defiant/s12%20stuff/
as far as the swap goes its relatively simple, there are only a few things you actually need to do. Foremost you have to decide on new engine management, the stock s12 ECU will not run the VG33 properly [nor will a Z31 Turbo ECU] both will flood the motor with fuel. As for me, I bought an Infiniti M30 ECU and sent it to Jim Wolf Technologies to be rewritten specifically for the purpose of running the motor. It gave me Consult connectivity to monitor the engine, and works like a dream. It was a little pricey, and I had to literally build an entire engine/ecu harness but it was worth it in the end. That's really the biggest decision you need to make.
Everything else is pretty minor. If you decide to, you can run Z31 headers but on the driver's side, the second tube won't clear the steering linkage so you'll have to have it cut and rewelded. You'll also have to purchase a VG30e oil dip stick tube and drill out a plug on the right side of the motor to relocate it to the other side if you wanna do aftermarket headers.
You can use the stock s12 oil pan and oil catch tube, you just have to modify the catch tube and the sump in the stock pan so they fit up properly. When bolted up to the VG33, the catch tube bends at the wrong angle and is a little too far forward for the s12 sump, you just have to bend the tube back and shorten it, and cut the sump a little. No biggie.
All the mechanical shit is the easy part. You'll be able to use all stock VG33 accessories and whatnots as for as A/C and P/S and all that...your biggest headache will be wiring. If you went with what I used as engine management you'll have to rewire the entire s12 harness using a combination of the VG33/Infiniti M30/s12 wiring diagrams kindly provided by their respective FSMs. I might guess that using aftermarket type engine management might limit this somewhat (I might be wrong on this, the VG33 has some differences than the s12 electrically), but I wanted stock reliability.
Anyway...that's mostly what I can think of at the moment. I do suggest you have at least three things at all times:
-patience
-determination
-drinks
Good luck! I'll be glad to answer questions or offer advice along the way, If I can help I will.
any reason for running an M30 ECU? I don't see why you couldn't just send in your stock S12 ECU and skip the whole M30 wiring part. Then it's just a matter of wiring the VG33 harness into the your S12.
I was wondering that as well
question im trying to do this swap or a swap from a z31 motor and i want to know will this work without different crossmembers, for the oil pan that is, because i blew the motor to my 87 vg30 and i need a diff motor that bolts up with less modification
no crossmember swapping was required for the VG33, and it wouldn't be for an VG30 for that matter.
as for my ECU choice, I went with the M30 ecu for a couple reasons:
-I got Consult connectivity out of it.
-the vg33 is an obd-II motor and the s12 ecu is OBD zilch. didn't wanna deal with that mess.
-I didn't want to run a standalone system of any sort.
it was mostly just personal preference, I'm sure there are plenty of ways to go about doing it.
so if i put a z31 motor in the s12 it should fit no problem, oil pan and everything? well except for upper intake
You need the S12 oil pan for whatever you swap into the car from what I understand.
the oil pan from the s12 wont bolt up to the vg30 block from a z31
it damn well should. my s12 oil pan bolts up to my vg33, I don't see why it wouldn't to your z31 vg30.
VG33ERGazelle? on 02:34:13 PM / 25-Jun-12it damn well should. my s12 oil pan bolts up to my vg33, I don't see why it wouldn't to your z31 vg30.
This x1000. LMAO!!